Jef Montes presents Velero

Jef Montes presented his third collection VELERO  in Amsterdam yesterday. Again, modern high tech fabrics and expressive silhouettes merged into a spectacular collection with a leading role for water and light.
For VELERO Jef Montes got inspired by the construction of sailing boats and the materials they are built with. Montes used fibres as glassfibre, nylon, carbon, silk wool, cotton and viscose. The silhouettes were based on the contours of ships and the way they were draped around the body symbolized the constant fight between nature and machine. The collection was a collaboration between various artists and product designers.  Jef Montes translated the work of artist Simone Albers to graphic colorblocks and into textile developed with  Textile Lab of the Museum for Textiles in Tilburg. At this lab he also developed a material build with four ‘layers’  nylon and cotton that reveals sailinpatterns once the light is projected. Product designer
Lennart Bras developed the material for shoes and the fabric that is used in the first look of the show is an abstract pattern of product designer Eva Bloemsma. The pattern was fixed into the fabric by a chemical process.
The show was followed by an exhibition.

Viktor&Rolf: the best of ready to wear

This morning the house of Viktor&Rolf announced via an exclusive story to WWD that it would stop creating and producing ready to wear after fall/winter 2015.
This is what WWD wrote:

“Viktor & Rolf are to halt ready-to-wear following the fall-winter 2015 season and concentrate on couture, fragrances and licensed businesses. Disclosing the development first to WWD, Dutch designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren said the decision was made in concert with majority shareholder OTB Group, the holding of Italian industrialist Renzo Rosso.
Rosso characterized the rtw shutdown as “a strategic decision to position the Viktor & Rolf brand in the highest luxury segment of fashion.”
It echoes last fall’s bombshell when French designer Jean Paul Gaultier said he would shutter rtw after a 38-year career to focus on high fashions and the perfume business it fuels, along with special projects.
A Viktor & Rolf spokeswoman said the designers would present and sell a final fall-winter 2015 women’s wear collection, but skip the runway during Paris Fashion Week, scheduled for March 3 to 11.
Viktor & Rolf ships its rtw collections for men and women to more than 100 specialty stores, and operates a freestanding store on Rue Saint Honoré in Paris, which is to go dark in early 2016.
“We feel a strong need to refocus on our artistic roots. We have always used fashion to communicate, it is our primary means of artistic expression,” Horsting said, lamenting that rtw — with its fast pace, deadlines and fierce competition — “started to feel creatively restricting. By letting go of it, we gain more time and freedom.”
“We are extremely excited to push the boundaries of our vision in new, unexpected territories,” Snoeren concurred.

The designers launched their brand in 1993, started showing couture in Paris in 1998, and began focusing on rtw in 2000. In 2005, they catapulted into the big league with the launch of Flowerbomb, their first women’s fragrance, in collaboration with L’Oréal.
“The decision to focus on haute couture is a strategic decision by the house of Viktor & Rolf to position the brand in the highest luxury segment of fashion,” a L’Oréal spokeswoman said on Tuesday. “We are confident that our strong collaboration with Viktor & Rolf will continue to see the launch of many successful fragrances.”
Viktor & Rolf showed five couture collections between January 1998 and July 2000, including the Atomic Bomb collection, featuring dramatic mushroom cloud-like cushioned necklines. For the Russian Doll show, the designers dressed model Maggie Rizer in 10 layers of clothes, merging fashion with performance art.
The majority of those pieces were sold to museums and institutions.
A men’s wear’s line, Viktor & Rolf Monsier, was introduced in 2003.
Despite this move into the mainstream, Viktor & Rolf maintained their reputation for unconventional catwalk presentations, many featuring live performances by actors and singers, including Tilda Swinton, Rufus Wainwright and Tori Amos.
OTB Spa invested in the brand in 2008, heralding what seemed to be a new stage in its development.

We’ve gathered the most memorable collections for you.

Viktor&Rolf Haute Couture Catwalk Show SS2015 Paris

Viktor&Rolf’s Spring/Summer 2015 Haute Couture collection is inspired by the raw energy of Vincent van Gogh’s exuberant depiction of the rural countryside. Flowerprint A-line babydoll dresses paired with straw hats and flipflops form the basis for a collection of increasingly colourful and sculptural looks.

Spring/Summer 2015 Haute Couture is a surreal exploration of print: Flower petals sprout outwards and escape the garments, transforming 2D prints to 3D, and essentially bringing the flat surface to life.

The essence of the countryside is translated into unexpected, sculptural looks that combine abstract graphic volumes with organic elements. Straw hats, put together with a spontaneous touch, form a surreal nod to countryside living. They enhance the bucolic mood of the looks, ultimately merging with the shapes of the garments, creating a new organic unity where hat and dress become one. Sandals made in matching printed fabric complete the summer look.

All fabric is manufactured through an authentic batik inspired “wax-dyeing & block printing” technique by VLISCO in the Netherlands. This ensures an unique high quality print with craquelé indigo lines and intense vibrant colours on both sides of the cloth.

The mood of the collection is set with a musical injection of femininity from the theme of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’, which starts as a lullaby and grows into an eerie and mysterious vibe during the course of the show.

Art collector Han Nefkens, a longstanding collaborator of Viktor&Rolf acquired three pieces of the collection after the show debuted on January 28th on the catwalks of Paris Fashion Week. These three works will be donated to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. Their longstanding collaboration has led to the purchase or commissioning of pieces that are donated or given as a long term loan to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen as part of the Han Nefkens Fashion on the Edge project.

Ilja Visser Couture Catwalk Show SS2015 Paris

Telling the story of nature’s rotating dynamic TOURNAVOLTA is the name of Ilja Visser’s new couture collection. Inspired by the perfect balance between nature en life it contained the loveliest of green shades, from olive and moss to mint. Made from complex pattern designs had the most graphic materials and voluminous shapes. A mix between heavy and airy fabrics, a match of both casual and elegance styles. Still the show’s vibe was relaxed, the silhouette easy going (hands in the pockets). Yes, these were couture designs, yet those pieces were wearable enough for many occasions, making them accessible to a broader audience. A beautifully made collection a label like Ilja might just need to break through internationally. And for those who wonder, there were still some Gaga worthy pieces (we suggest a mint green dress with orange ribbon) in it.

MBFWA This was Day 4

It looks like Day 4 of MBFWA was all about hair. Looking at the shows of l’Oreal Professionel and Dennis Diem the haircrews did an amazing job. Other interesting shows were Mirte van Wijngaarden, Army of Me and Samaranda Almasan.

MBFWA, This was day 3

Day 3 of MBFWA is a fact. We look back to some great shows like Maison the Faux, SchuellerdeWaal and Sis by Spijkers & Spijkers.

Supertrash Catwalk Fashion Show Amsterdam FW2015

Like every season the closer we got to Saturday the more SuperTrash became the talk of the town. Leave it up to Olcay Gulsen to create a fashion buzz. For tonight’s show she opted for a location at which no one had ever held a fashion show before; the newly built, underground cycling tunnel at Amsterdam’s Central Station, which is still to be opened. In stead of inviting thousands of guests, like she did at her previous shows, she invited five hundred. Plus she arranged for the biggest Dutch bloggers to dress up in SuperTrash and attend the show as special front row guests. There were selfie sticks on every seat as well as a batches of honor with everyone’s initials on it. Just a few things to get the fashion buzz going..

The SuperTrash FW designs were all about powerful women, modern pioneers and basically formed an ode to the empowerment of femininity. Outfits, divided into three themes; Style Scout, Wo-Man and Style Revolution, to let every woman be the best version of herself. Like she would be in a white tuxedo, a leather pencil skirt, a floor sweeping printed gown, a lace dress or a colored woolen overcoat. Outfits in black, white, camel and touches of red worked their magic on the sixty meter long red carpet catwalk. The models wearing those looked strong and seductive, while celebrating their femininity. Like Olcay when she appeared sporting the most dazzling suit. A suit well worthy of the ST after party in one of Amsterdam’s coolest hotels, where we were all heading. Time for some drinks and dance moves. After all, this was the evening we’d been looking forward to all week. Be bold, be yourself, be a Modern Pioneer.

MBFWA, This was day 2

Day 2 of MBFWA was a day to rememeber with some strong an interesting shows full of energy, emotion and creativity. We are thinking of  Bas Kosters, Aziz Bekkaoui and Said Mahrouf, but also Inkni.

Bas Kosters Catwalk Fashion Show MBFWA FW2015

If there’s anyone who knows how to throw a decent catwalk party, it’s Bas Kosters. Year after year he gets the fashion crowd going by just letting music, make-up, backdrop and models in his designs work together. Today was no exception. Bas himself sat on a large block which stood on the catwalk. In Lotus position, like a fashion Budhha he looked at the fashion crowd. As he started spinning, yep, spinning, we’re talking Bas Kosters here, Valentijn de Hingh, opened the show. Naturally dressed in a bright colored, larger than life creation. As the show went on all typical ingredients came along. Tulle, bright colors, structured shapes, glitters everywhere, make-up overdone. Oh and let’s not forget the customized strollers, supermarket carts, dolls and Bas’ face as a backdrop. The music was a little less party, a little more spiritual. Incense and flowers spreading the love during the finale added up to that relaxation factor. An awakening and enlightening start of the weekend. Thanks for a good time, Bas!

INKNI Catwalk Fashion Show MBFWA FW2015

Tonight was Zheng Zheng Li’s Amsterdam Fashion Week debut. And the Chinese-born designer, who studied in Paris and achieved his Masters in Arnhem certainly wowed the Dutch audience. He presented a flawless menswear collection which had all the right ingredients in it. Musthaves like the white shirt, black pants, blue suit, grey cardigan and waistcoats all made their way onto the runway. All still perfectly wearable pieces, but with a surprising touch. Like gold details, baroque prints, an extra belt, a subtle slit or a certain piece done in a few inches shorter than you’d expect. Polka dot socks and shoes added to the uniqueness of the looks as did animal masques on the back of the models’ heads. Such a joy to watch.

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